Round Table Discussion
15 years ago
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Accepting Technology As a New Medium of Education
The reasoning is simple: What worked for us must work for our future generations. We learned and exchanged ideas with books and that worked for us for past centuries and continues to even today. So naturally we ask ourselves: why should we change from use of books to use of technology in education? After all, why fix something that has century’s long working record. This has become our mantra and we start to look for evidences that support this argument. We read/hear a lot of alarmist commentary about the dangers of the Internet for youngsters. How it puts kids at risk, erodes social skills, lays traps for the unwary and innocent, and contributes to the long slow spiral into illiteracy. Like anything in life there are always two sides of the coin. While I agree about the risks involved with letting our youngster online, yet I am mindful of the benefits to education that online access offers. It gives them opportunities of communication and self expression with a click of a button. Aside from the keyboarding and multitasking skills our kids develop, the substance of what they're writing is richer in content compared to what mine was at that age.
Internet gives kids access to information in ways prior generation cannot even have imagined. Almost all the information that humanity has accumulated thus far and that too INSTANTLY! That fact in itself should be sufficient to convince us all that technology is here to stay and we are better off because of it. I won't be surprised if the new generation of Internet users turn out to be the most articulate and best-informed generation in recent history.
Computer use doesn't have to be isolating. Like any privilege, computer use can be a lesson in responsibility. We as parents and educators have to realize that just because we are where we want to be right now or we are satisfied with our current status, we shouldn’t think that we can just sit around and things will continue to always be the same. We must always strive for something more than what we already have. Change is a fact of life and it will happen no matter what we do.
We as parents and educators teach our kids/students to learn all they can so they have options in life. One's potential is not set in stone at birth; it has to develop and change with increased knowledge and understanding. The role of teachers and parents is to help our future generations in the process of this discovery, and we need to set an example.
Reference:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/6122032.html http://www.pewinternet.org/Media-Mentions/2008/Are-Video-Games-Actually-Good-For-Kids.aspx
Internet gives kids access to information in ways prior generation cannot even have imagined. Almost all the information that humanity has accumulated thus far and that too INSTANTLY! That fact in itself should be sufficient to convince us all that technology is here to stay and we are better off because of it. I won't be surprised if the new generation of Internet users turn out to be the most articulate and best-informed generation in recent history.
Computer use doesn't have to be isolating. Like any privilege, computer use can be a lesson in responsibility. We as parents and educators have to realize that just because we are where we want to be right now or we are satisfied with our current status, we shouldn’t think that we can just sit around and things will continue to always be the same. We must always strive for something more than what we already have. Change is a fact of life and it will happen no matter what we do.
We as parents and educators teach our kids/students to learn all they can so they have options in life. One's potential is not set in stone at birth; it has to develop and change with increased knowledge and understanding. The role of teachers and parents is to help our future generations in the process of this discovery, and we need to set an example.
Reference:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/6122032.html http://www.pewinternet.org/Media-Mentions/2008/Are-Video-Games-Actually-Good-For-Kids.aspx
Who Moved My Cheese
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Who Moved My Cheese
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